Taking the Next Step
by madHATTERo0
Summary: -sequel to friends with benefits--chapter three: running away from the issues- Inoichi’s aim was impeccable, and his target had become Naruto’s castration. -naruino-
1. Early Morning Snacks

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Naruto_. Short, simple, and to the point. (AKA I couldn't think of anything remotely amusing to write for the disclaimer.)

**Taking the Next Step**

**Chapter One**

**Early Morning Snacks**

Naruto groaned and rolled over in bed, bringing a pillow out from under him to cover his head as he tried to drown out the incessant screeching coming from the kitchen. He'd just gotten back from an A-class mission, and he wanted to sleep, dammit!

The screeching paused for a blissful moment only to be replaced by the banging and clanging of metal on metal. Naruto sleepily pried open an eye and lifted his pillow enough to have a decent view of the kitchen across the hall. Ino was on the tips of her toes, reaching up for a plate in the back of a cabinet. The extra large t-shirt she'd pulled from her closet and donned rode up over her hips and very clearly revealed that the t-shirt was _all_ that she had bothered to don.

Naruto groaned for an entirely different reason and rolled back over in an effort to relieve his growing discomfort. Okay, so the screeching was actually Ino singing some song as she went about fixing herself a—Naruto glanced at the digital screen of the alarm clock—three AM snack. And he hadn't _just_ gotten back from an A-class mission, but when he _had_ gotten back, he'd already been a little sleepy and he certainly hadn't had any sleep since his return to the village a few hours ago.

After the…activities that he and Ino had been participating in since he'd shown up at her doorstep—at the time far too tired to bother walking all the way back to his own apartment, but suddenly wide awake when Ino had answered the door in her sleeping attire, or rather her lack of sleeping attire—he figured that he'd earned some peace and quiet and a warm body to cuddle up against so that he could catch up on all the sleep he'd missed during the pervious night's stake-out. Apparently, Ino had other plans.

"Since when did making a sandwich require pots and pans?" he asked groggily, wrapping the pillow around his head in an attempt to block out the noise.

Ino's singing cut off immediately. "Who said I was making a sandwich?" she replied snappily.

"You did," he informed her. "You know, when you got out of bed and said you were going to the kitchen to make a sandwich."

Ino scoffed and proceeded to ignore his presence for the next few minutes. Naruto guessed she'd actually gotten to the cooking part of whatever she was making, since the noise level had decreased severely. Naruto soon found himself dozing off, so he closed his eyes gratefully and drifted asleep.

Naruto jerked back awake when an acrid aroma assailed his poor nose. He stared in open disgust at the bowl of _something_ that Ino had placed on the bed-side table next to his head. "The hell is that?" he demanded, covering his nose in hopes of blocking out the stench.

"Eat," Ino instructed while placing her hands on her hips.

"That shit is edible?" Naruto questioned incredulously.

"Yes! Now hurry up and eat!" she ordered with a frown marring her face. When all he did was continue to glare at her carefully prepared dish, she stomped her foot and wailed, "If it was ramen, you'd have already shoved it down your throat!"

"Yeah, but that is definitely _not_ ramen!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I know you're hungry, dipshit! Your stomach's been growling for the past ten minutes! When the hell was the last time you ate?" Ino fumed, trying with all her might to keep herself from knocking the idiot in her bed out cold.

Naruto regarded her skeptically. "Are you sure it wasn't _your_ stomach that you heard?" he asked suspiciously. "I mean, you're the one with the little person growing in your belly."

"A maturing fetus does not cause a stomach to growl!" she shouted exasperatedly.

"But it makes you hungrier than you normally are, which does make your stomach growl," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

Ino was just bringing up her hands to start forming seals when an idea occurred to her: why not just switch tactics? "Ne, Naruto-kun," she purred, climbing up on the bed and starting to crawl toward him slowly, "If you hurry up and eat, then for dessert…" Her tongue flicked out to lick at her lips suggestively as she leaned closer to him. Naruto grinned back at her and leaned up onto his elbows, quickly moving in for the kill, when Ino's lips were quite suddenly replaced by a spoonful of the _something_. Ino shoved the spoon into his mouth and Naruto reeled back, spitting the spoon out and clutching at his throat as he gagged.

"Poison! I've been poisoned!" he wailed, his head flailing back and forth against the pillow.

A fist came flying toward him suddenly and he barely had time to register Ino's outraged shout of "How dare you insult my cooking, you fucktard!" before he was seeing stars and the pain in his left cheek became very nearly unbearable.

"I'm sowwy Ino-chwan," he mumbled pathetically, nursing the growing bruise of his face. "It wash delicioush. Reawwy," he insisted.

"That so? Then hurry up and eat," she hissed, turning away swiftly and heading for the kitchen to retrieve her own bowl.

Naruto rubbed at his cheek until the pain was just a dull throbbing. Feeling relatively safe with Ino in a room across the hall, Naruto ventured, "Oy, what the hell did I do to warrant such cruel and unusual punishment?"

"What did you do? Why, Naruto-kun, that's the problem," Ino called back sugar-sweetly. "You didn't do _anything_. You didn't offer to make me something when I said that I was hungry or even get off your lazy ass to help me."

"But you never eat what I fix you!" Naruto retorted.

"That's because all you know how to make is ramen," she spat back.

"And whenever I try and help, all you do is yell at me!" Naruto continued.

"That's 'cause you're always in the way!" she snapped.

"So then what's the point of me even offering!?" he exclaimed incredulously.

"The point is that you care enough to offer, dipshit!" she cried, a light blush spreading over her cheeks as she turned to her own bowl—which was quite obviously filled with vegetable soup; Naruto was just too much of an idiot to recognize any form of sustenance that wasn't ramen. She could feel tears welling up at the edges of her eyes, but quickly blinked them away. God damn mood swings.

Naruto stood and, after pausing for a moment to slip on his boxers, walked over to wrap his arms around Ino from behind. She roughly shrugged out of the embrace and began fervently gulping down her soup. "Ino-chan," Naruto whispered lowly, letting his breath ghost over her ear and throat pleasantly and grinning when he saw light goose bumps pop up along the flesh. "Have I ever told you just how sexy you are when you're mad?"

Ino whacked his arm none-too-gently and replied, "What are you talking about, you idiot? I'm sexy 24/7."

Naruto 'hmm'ed contemplatively before conceding, "That's true, my bad." Ino's head dipped down in what could have been a nod of affirmation, but other than that, she was back to ignoring him. Naruto began to slowly make his way back toward the bedroom and the bed, pulling Ino along with him. Once the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, he sat down and pulled Ino into his lap. She was still steadfastly focused on her bowl of soup, gorging down the vegetables and broth as if she was a dying man trying to fit in one last meal.

"Hungry much?" Naruto asked teasingly.

Ino paused and glanced over her shoulder at him. "I'm eating for two now, in case you've forgotten. Even if I want to diet, your spawn is rather against it."

"That's 'cause my spawn understands that food is vital to life."

Ino snorted derisively. "If you don't hurry up and eat, I'm going to take yours too."

Naruto quickly picked the bowl up off the bedside table and shoved it into her hands. "Please, be my guest."

"There's no ramen in any of my cabinets, and your favorite stand doesn't open until seven," she reminded him offhandedly.

Naruto's stomach chose that moment to erupt with a strange gurgling noise to signify its emptiness. With a frown, Naruto picked up his spoon and began sipping at the soup cautiously. "So what do you call this?"

"Vegetable soup."

"Really?"

"How is it?"

"Well, other than the vegetables, it's alright."

"'Other than the vegetables'? What the hell's left then?"

"The broth."

"Which gets its flavoring from the vegetables."

"But the broth isn't an actual vegetable."

Ino looked back at Naruto with an eyebrow arched high. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It does if you're me."

Ino snorted softly and shook her head. They continued to eat in a comfortable silence, and Ino found herself reflecting on their situation. For all his promises that he'd always take care of her, and she'd never even need to lift a finger, most days it seemed like Ino was the one who ended up taking care of him. But then there were times like these, where he was just so _him_, when Ino couldn't imagine life without him. When had Naruto become such a major part of her life?

Ino's musings were cut short when she remembered that she was supposed to pass a message on to Naruto. "Hey, Tsunade-sama asked me to remind you about some meeting?"

Naruto stared at her blankly for a bit before blinking and nodding in realization. "Oh yeah. I'm actually supposed to go see her in few hours," he mumbled, glancing over at the clock.

"About what?" Ino asked curiously, as she placed her empty bowl down.

Naruto placed his own bowl down stacked inside hers. "I'm getting my genin team assignment."

"Eh? So then…"

Naruto grinned and tightened his arms around her waist. "Yup. That was my last mission outside of the village for awhile. It's gonna be strictly D-rank missions for the next few months."

Ino turned in his arms so that she was straddling him and looped her arms around his neck, his arms still resting comfortably around her waist. "And that means that we can actually plan dates ahead of time and you won't end up standing me up for another sudden assassination mission."

Naruto groaned at the overly-chipper tone. "I'm sorry, alright? I could've sworn I stopped by the flower shop and told you."

"Sure you did," Ino responded sarcastically. But then her lips stretched into a real smile and she asked, "Can we do something this weekend? There's a movie that just came out that I'm dying to see."

"Hmm, I don't know," Naruto drawled playfully, rolling his eyes up towards the ceiling as he pretended to be thinking about other plans. Ino grabbed his chin and forced his head back down to face her. With a mischievous grin, she leaned forward and kissed him hungrily. Pulling back after a minute, she murmured, "Please?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Naruto trailed off, quickly moving to flip their positions so Ino was lying back on the bed underneath him. He started to lightly kiss and bite his way down her neck and was just about to try something he'd read in the latest Icha Icha book when Ino interrupted suddenly, "Oh, and don't forget—we're having lunch with my parents tomorrow."

Naruto halted abruptly in his actions to pull away and glare at her. "A mood annihilator if ever there was one."

"You're the one that wanted to tell them I was pregnant in the first place," Ino snapped.

"Well we sort of have to!" Naruto burst out. "I mean, they're going to notice _eventually_, and I'd like keep the majority of my body parts intact, which I'm hoping will be the case if we come out and tell 'em up front."

Ino rolled her eyes and rolled out from underneath him, pulling the comforter up over her in the process. "Hey, what are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"What's it look like? I'm going to sleep." Ino shifted slightly, trying to find a comfortable position and turning herself away from him. Naruto fell down next to her with a huff, crossed his arms over his chest, and pouted at the ceiling. He continued to lie there, grumbling about bitchy teases, until Ino rolled back toward him and rested her head on his chest.

"Night Naruto," she mumbled sleepily.

Naruto grinned goofily and wrapped an arm securely around her waist. Closing his eyes, he whispered against her hair, "G'night Ino. I love you."

"Mmm," was the groggy reply, "Love you too."

**A/N: This took me far to long to write. Oh well. Yay! The sequel's here! What's going to happen? Honestly, I don't know. I'm just writing this one as it comes to me. Anyway, review! Please? 'Cause I love reviews. They give meaning to my otherwise meaningless life.**

**-mH**


	2. Preparing to Meet the Parents

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own _Naruto_. My life is just filled with tragedy, you know?

**Taking the Next Step**

**Chapter Two: Part One**

**Preparing to Meet the Parents**

"Your genin team assignment," Tsunade explained as she handed over a thin, plain folder to Naruto. He took it and flipped it open. Then closed it. Then flipped it open again. Then closed it again. "Naruto?" Tsunade asked hesitantly.

"Huh?" Naruto's head snapped up and he looked back at Tsunade bewilderedly as if he hadn't even realized he was in the Hokage's office.

Tsunade regarded him worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, fine. I'm just dandy," Naruto squeaked, opening the folder back open to skim the pages. Then he realized that the folder was upside down so he snapped it shut again.

"You don't say," Tsuande continued skeptically.

"Well no, not really," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "I'm having lunch with Ino and her parents. We're telling them. You know, that she's pregnant."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up. "Good luck with that, brat. A word of advice? However long you two have been…seeing one another, you've been _dating_, not fooling around."

"Right," Naruto muttered. "I doubt that's gonna help much though…"

Tsunade shook her head and hid a smirk behind her hand. "You'll survive. Maybe." Naruto glared at her briefly before going back to his distracted behavior. "Anyway, you meet your team tomorrow morning at nine. Be sure your at the Academy on time. Got it?"

Naruto nodded, turning about-face to head out of the office. "Right, nine. Academy. Gotta make it through dinner first," Naruto mumbled to himself dejectedly.

"Have fun!" Tsuande called after him, her voice uncharacteristically giddy. Naruto made sure to slam the door extra on his way out.

* * *

Naruto met up with Ino just as she was closing and locking the door to her apartment. They fell in step with one another and began to make their way to the Yamanaka residence near the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino didn't look very nervous considering just what it was that they were on their way to do. Then again, she hadn't knocked _herself _up, so her parents weren't very likely to get mad at her. Well, most parents would probably be enraged with their daughter for getting drunk in the first place, which had enabled said knocking up; but Ino was a princess so far as her parents were concerned—she could do no wrong.

Naruto on the other hand... Well, her parents had started to warm up to him when he began frequenting the flower shop to hang out with Ino, but he had a feeling that things were about to get very icy between them.

"I've been thinking. You know, we don't really need to tell them. Let's just go to Ichiraku's instead!" Naruto exclaimed, stopping in the middle of the street.

"Naruto!" Ino huffed as she turned on him, balled fists resting on her hips. "Stop being a wimp!"

"You're not the one risking having your balls violently removed by irate parents!" Naruto cried out.

"You'll be _fine_, you idiot! You'll be in deep shit with them if we _don't_ tell them and then they find out!"

"That's it! We just won't let them find out! I mean, we kept our…relations…secret from 'em. We'll keep this secret too!" Naruto cheered. The next second he was sporting a rather large bump on his head ala Ino's fist.

"What the hell is wrong with your brain!? We can't keep this a secret! Don't you think they'd notice when I suddenly start getting fat and then in a few months I'm toting around a baby!?"

Naruto whimpered, cradling his injured head with his arms. He looked back at Ino with watery blue eyes and his patented 'I'm-too-cute-to-say-no-to' pout. "Please don't make me go Ino—beautiful, merciful Ino."

Ino's eye began to twitch the moment he pulled the pout, but the shameless flattery made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She loved a good ego boost.

"Alright then. How about this?" Ino proposed with a sexy smirk, "You come to lunch with my parents, we tell them I'm pregnant, you somehow fend off my dad before he kills you, and the next time I have a chat with Sakura, I'll broach the subject of a possible threesome."

Naruto gaped at her. "Seriously!?"

"Seriously."

"The hell are we waitin' for? Let's get to your parents' house!"

**A/N: Let it be duly noted that I am absolutely horrible about updating. I know this is super short and not really interesting, but I felt really bad since I've been trying to work on fics all Spring Break and this was as far as I got with this chapter and I told myself I had to post /something/ before break ended. I promise that the rest of this chapter will be up by Friday (April 20, I believe). Please don't be too angry with me! -gets down on hands and knees to beg for forgiveness-**

**-mH**


	3. Meeting the Parents

**Disclaimer: **I hereby disclaim any ownership of _Naruto_. Is that even grammatically correct? It sounds so stuffy, I can't tell…

**Note: I don't know if I've ever written it anywhere, but here's the 411: Ino's parents already know Naruto pretty well. I think I wrote somewhere about him going to the flower shop to hang out with her when they started becoming friends. During that time, he met her parents. Just FYI.**

**Taking the Next Step**

**Chapter Two: Part Two**

**Meeting the Parents**

Yamanaka Himawari glared over at her pacing husband as she finished setting the table. "Either calm down or go somewhere else," she warned, placing a small vase of fresh flowers in the center of the table.

"Calm down? _Calm down_!? My little princess is bringing a _boy_ home! Did you not hear her the other day? They've been _dating_!" Inoichi raged. He suddenly slumped into a chair. "Just how long have they been dating? Why did she just now tell us? Did she think we wouldn't approve because it's Naruto-san? Our daughter thinks we're cruel, ignorant fools!" he wailed.

Himawari eyed the pitcher of cool water sitting innocently on the countertop, contemplating whether or not spilling the water all over the table and floor would be worth the indignant spluttering and drenched, pouting face of her husband. "She doesn't have to tell us every detail of her life, you know. She's a woman now; she can handle her own affairs. Besides, I've told you time and again that there was something going on with those two. At their age, you don't hang out with a member of the opposite sex that much unless something's going on."

"She still should have told us. I mean, that's a pretty major detail," Inoichi whined. His wife smacked the back of his head with an agitated "Will you grow up already?" before stalking off to make sure that the rest of the house was tidy.

There was a knock at the door and Inoichi sprang up to answer it, but he was forcefully pushed back into his chair as Himawari passed by him on her way to the door. "_I'll _get it," she insisted.

Himawari opened the door to reveal two quietly bickering blonds at the doorstep. The moment they realized they were being watched, Naruto turned to Himawari with a friendly smile and held out a box to her. "I brought cake," he explained simply.

Ino rolled her eyes. They'd just turned onto her parents' street when Naruto had had an epiphany: if he brought dessert, her parents would instantly be in a good mood. So he'd run off to the nearest bakery to buy a chocolate cake. And now here they were: standing in the doorway of her parents' home with a fucking _cake_. Really, how stupid was he that he thought a cake would make a suitable peace offering? It didn't matter what he did to try and butter her parents up; the second they dropped the bomb, it was all going to go to Hell anyway.

Himawari smiled appreciatively and accepted the box. "Please, come in," she beseeched, stepping aside. "How have you been Naruto-san? It's been quite awhile."

"Ahaha," Naruto laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry. I've been real busy with missions, you know? But I'm doing great. How about you?"

"I suppose I shouldn't complain, so let's just leave it at I'm fine," she replied with an amused grin, leading them to the dining room/kitchen and motioning them to have a seat.

"Ino, Naruto-san," Inoichi nodded in greeting. Naruto nodded back and waved with a strained grin. Ino walked around the table and gave him a quick hug before sitting down.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's eat, shall we?" Himawari suggested. A chorus of "Itadakimasu" followed and they began to eat the various dishes set before them.

"So, Ino, how's life?" Inoichi asked to break the preceding silence.

"Pretty much the same as when I talked to you yesterday," she replied with a smirk.

"Good, good. And Naruto-san, how're you?" Inoichi continued.

"Great." _For the time being_. "You?"

"Well enough."

"And now that all those formalities are out of the way," Himawari interrupted smoothly, "To what do we owe your visit Ino?"

"What? A girl can't bring her boyfriend over for lunch with her parents anymore?" Ino asked evasively, bringing her glass of water to her lips.

"Of course she can, but she usually doesn't unless it's the initial meeting, a holiday, or there's some news," Himawari returned. "There's no approaching holiday and we've known Naruto-san for quite a while, which reminds me, you really should start stopping be the shop again, Naruto-san. It's always a fun day when you come to help arrange bouquets."

Naruto smiled sheepishly back. "I'll try." Ino's eyes were narrowed just barely as she looked at her mother.

"That's right," Inoichi jumped back in. "Why didn't you two tell us you were dating sooner? Just how long have you been together?"

"Uh, er, it's been nearly a year now, hasn't it?" Naruto stuttered nervously in Ino's direction. They hadn't actually discussed beforehand any of these details, so Naruto just went with what Tsunade had suggested—they'd been "dating" for as long as they'd been fooling around.

"Has it?" Ino returned, grinning wickedly. "It's seems like just the other day we were going on our first date," Ino mused with a mischievous spark in her eyes as she looked back at Naruto. Naruto managed to look only slightly horrified at the prospect of her not really playing along.

"That long? And you didn't tell us?" Inoichi looked rather distressed at this news.

"I'm sorry, Otousan," Ino consoled with a genuinely apologetic look. "We were just trying to keep it out of the spotlight, you know?" Naruto let out a relieved sigh.

"So why let the cat out of the bag now?" Himawari asked curiously. By this point, everyone had finished eating, so Himawari stood to clear the plates away and cut the cake that Naruto had brought.

"Well, we have news, as a matter of fact. And we wanted to be the ones to tell you," Ino admitted, frowning slightly at her mother. She had a sneaking suspicion that her mom already knew—damn woman's intuition.

"News? What kind of news?" Inoichi questioned, looking a little nervous. _Don't tell me they're getting married. I just found out they're dating! I haven't prepared myself to give away my little princess!_

"Well, me and Naruto have been together for a good while now, and we really care about each other…" Ino began, hesitating as her nerve began to falter. She had an idea of how her parents would react, and while she doubted that it would actually come down to serious violence, she wasn't one hundred percent sure that Inoichi wouldn't swing a punch Naruto's way. Plus, admitting that she was pregnant meant admitting that she was having sex. Now, sex was really nothing new to her, but her father didn't know that, and she would have preferred things stayed that way.

Himawari's brow furrowed. The way she was phrasing her words, it sounded as if they were—

"No! Absolutely not! You two aren't getting married!" Inoichi exploded, bolting out of his chair and sending it crashing to the floor.

"What? Otousan—" Ino began perplexedly, standing as well.

"You're too young! I won't allow it!"

"We're not—"

"Ah—Yamanaka-san—" Naruto cut in, "It's not what you think, really—" _It's much worse_.

"You!" Inoichi rounded on Naruto. "This is your fault! You're the one that talked my princess into this!"

"Otousan! We're not getting married!"

Inoichi had blocked out his daughter's shrieking though and was advancing toward a very scared looking Naruto.

"What the hell is it then?" Himawari demanded, grabbing her husband's arm to hold him back.

"I'm pregnant!" Ino exclaimed, throwing her chopsticks down on the table in her frustration.

Naruto squeaked. Himawari's grip went slack, along with her jaw. And Inoichi saw red.

**A/N: Okay, so technically, it's Saturday now, but pfft. At least I updated. You have no idea just how much of a miracle that is. Now review! Please? Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.**

**-mH**

**P.S. Regarding the threesome mentioned in the last part: it's actually in the works, but it's going to be like an extra side-story thing, 'cause it's actually not really relevant to the plot… I don't think I'm going to post it on either. When it's done, I'll put up a link in my profile. Until then, ciao!**


	4. Running Away from the Issues

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Naruto

**Disclaimer: **As usual, I don't own _Naruto_.

**Taking the Next Step**

**Chapter Three**

**Running Away from the Issues**

Naruto had never been one to run away from anything, especially not mortal danger. But with Inoichi being hot for blood and Naruto being the guy who knocked up his little princess, Naruto felt that it was in his best interest to get his ass out of and far away from that house as soon as possible.

A quick body switch with a clone waiting on the roof (a plan he'd cleverly implemented while purchasing the dessert/initial peace offering, believe it!) had gotten him out of the house easy enough. Shadow clones had then scoured the village streets and rooftops, and Naruto made to hide in the sea of orange. Inoichi had soon found him, though.

Naruto had been under the impression that his plan was rather affective when he felt small bursts of chakra returning to him as various clones poofed out of existence, but it seemed Inoichi had just been happily mauling through the Naruto horde to make it to real one. An uncomfortable wriggling sensation had been tickling his skull since he'd bolted, and Naurto now had a sneaking suspicion that Inoichi was poking and prodding at the edges of his mind in order to discern chakra expense from knocking-up novice.

Naruto was currently dashing through the crowds in the streets, a few clones nearby for the sole purpose of switching places with now. Inoichi's aim was impeccable, and his target had become Naruto's castration.

Ducking under a waving arm, Naruto slid into an alleyway for a breather. He'd known going into that luncheon that it would not be pretty, but wasn't the old man overreacting just a bit!?

Just as he was about to scout the perimeter for the enraged father and make a run for the nearest fortified shelter, Naruto felt a large hand clasp around his throat and hoist him off the ground and against the alley wall. The resulting cracking sounds as he was slammed into the plaster worried him a little.

Naruto laughed nervously, bringing his hands up in a sign of surrender as Inoichi raised his other fist—complete with newly sharpened kunai!—and grinned manically.

"That's enough!" a voice cried from the entrance to the alley just as a kitchen knife sailed through the air to pin Inoichi's sleeve to the wall next to Naruto's head. The two hazarded a glance toward the street to find a furious Himawari and an exasperated Ino.

"Both of you, back to the house! Now!" Himawari barked, and the two men quickly scrambled back the way they had come.

* * *

Naruto's eyes kept bouncing around the room—from Inoichi looming threateningly by the only exit in the room, to Himawari sitting across from them far too calmly, to Ino glaring alternately at him and her father. Naruto's every ounce of will was going into resisting his fight-or-flight instincts.

Himawari placed her hands in her lap and regarded the two in front of her with a raised brow. "When will the wedding be held?"

Ino turned her glare on her mother and added a low growl to her repertoire. "I thought we were past this already. We're not getting married; I'm pregnant."

Himawari shook her head with a sigh. "You're getting married," she reaffirmed.

Ino could feel her ill-contained temper begin to flare. "No," she muttered darkly, "We're not getting married."

Himawari's posture shifted as she crossed her legs and arms. "Yes, you are," she stated with a hard stare. "If you're old enough to have a child together, then you're old enough to take responsibility for your actions and get married."

Had Naruto just been an observer and not a crucial member of this discussion, he would have prayed to have had been drinking something at that moment so that he could spew it out at such a dramatic moment for some comic relief. But being that he was a crucial member of this discussion, he figured it was probably best that he didn't have any liquid refreshments on hand since doing that probably would have landed him in some even deeper shit right about now. He opted instead to gape like a fat, lazy koi fish begging for food at the edge of a pond.

"'Kaa-san!" Ino started to protest.

Her mother plowed on before Ino could get anything else out. "I hardly believe that Naruto-san is the type to leave you to take care of this all by yourself. He showed up here today with you to tell us the news, so he obviously cares about you."

Getting the feeling that he should jump into the conversation, Naruto proclaimed, "I love Ino! And I'd never not uphold my responsibilities!"

Himawari nodded to herself. "Good, so—"

"Didn't you hear me!?" Ino burst out, rising from the couch with her balled fists at her sides. "How many times do I need to repeat myself? We're not getting married!"

Her mother regarded Ino curiously. "What's the problem? Don't you love Naruto-san as well?"

Ino huffed at her bangs in frustration. "That's not the issue here and you—"

Inoichi, who'd been stewing silently during their exchange, took a step forward and asked, "If you love each other and are going to have a baby together, then why not get married?"

Naruto could tell by Ino's shaking frame that her temper was about to explode full force. He stood and reached out to her, his mind scrambling for something to say to her that might diffuse the situation, but she whirled away from him and elbowed past her father to get to the front door before Naruto could stop her.

Wavering uncertainly for a moment, Naruto mumbled his thanks and apologies to the Yamanakas then made his own hasty retreat. He sprinted to catch up to Ino once he was out of the house and grabbed her wrist before she could escape again.

Before Naruto could get out what he was sure would have been super-spontaneous, super-comforting line, Ino had pivoted and slapped him hard across his cheek. "Just fuck off!" she hissed and stormed off down another street. Naruto stared after her even once she'd disappeared. Her reaction was a bit shocking, but what really threw Naruto were the tears flooding in her eyes.

**A/N: Oh the drama! The woe! I've been watching too many J-dramas… This chapter is all thanks to Schwarzd354, my guiding light! I don't know what I would've done without you! Well, actually I do. I would've succumbed to evil writer's block, but that doesn't sound nearly as melodramatic. **

**Sorry my return is such a short chapter, but I promise I'll post more soon!**

**mH**


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